Escape
by Kumori-Eclipse
Summary: Three years after it all began... Three years lost to the demons both in and out of STEM. It's time for a change, it's time to take back his life.
1. Part One

The sound of banging on the door broke any kind of silence that may have been created within this hell. Honestly, it was probably better, he'd come to prefer the noise in these situations rather than the silence. The silence was worse...dangerous. It left one with their own thoughts, memories, that was far worse than going face to face with those...things. While at first glance, this place looked much like the hell of STEM that he was familiar with...but it wasn't. There was no core, no linking of minds other than one. If anything, it was merely more of a glorified simulation put in motion by those bastards.

It was to push the subject...to study them like a lab rat, something he'd sadly become more accustomed to. How long had it been now? Just about three years he supposed, three years since he'd been a normal detective and fallen into something he never could have dreamed of. It was all so surreal still, he remembered being shot...sure he was going to die, risking his life to try and protect someone who could have very well ended up being their downfall. Next thing...he was in the labs, where he'd remained until now. MOBIUS, the monsters behind the scene, it wasn't surprising they had no intention of simply letting him walk away after that. At the same time, he wasn't honestly surprised they hadn't killed him either.

As much as they sang of wanting to use the STEM reserch for the 'good' of mankind...there were always other uses for it. MOBIUS had proven more than once they had little trouble with using darker means, especially against those who crossed them. It was not a stretch to think they might possibly think of weaponizing it. They were interested in the affects it had on a subject...and unfortunately he seemed to have become their favorite to toy with. In the original system, he had come to learn that there was...something...lurking inside of his mind, his being that he did not want to address. He was well aware of the growth of it since then, but fortunately keeping it at bay was manageable, due to the intense desire to survive and to get out that had taken up root within him. Long ago most would have given up hope and after the hells he'd been through, he probably should've as well...but...something refused to let him break that far.

Another strike and the door splintered a bit. A pair of glowing white eyes behind a deformed face looked through, an inhumane growl directed at him. There was no more denying it...no more remaining here safe behind the blocked wood. He wouldn't be surprised if they had been purposfully pushed in his direction...since the whole point of this was to force him into combat. Glancing down at the gun in hand, he slipped the clip out to check it. Seven shots...he was going to have to make it count. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and raised the gun, aiming it at the door beyond. With another rush, the door broke and the first one breached.

He didn't even hesitate, pulling the trigger so the bullet flew across the room right between those eyes. The first fell but was soon replaced by two more. They made a move for him, but he was able to dodge out from under and move towards the door. Tensing, he saw the chainsaw comming and managed to drop into a roll just as it sliced right where he'd just been and lodged itself into the doorframe.

"Dammit..." he pushed himself up and took off down the street.

Those things all around, already coming out of the scene and taking to chasing after him. This was to out in the open, he'd never have decent cover here like this. Turning off the main street, he headed down the ally. As odd as it sounded, he was aware there was a graveyard nearby. A terrible idea...but at least better cover. Pushing open the gates, he could hear the mass of growls and sounds growing behind him. He turned on his heel, raising the gun to fire at one that had gotten uncomfortably close. It dropped, but four more were bursting through the gates themselves.

One had a gun themselves, aiming a shot in his direction. In order to avoid it, he ducked behind a large statue of an angel missing its head...how fitting. The shot chipped at the statue to his side, the moment in pause allowing him to turn out and take out the holder of the gun. Unfortunately, he didn't see the one rushing from the right in time. It dove at him, hitting him hard in the side. The two went crashing down to the ground and down the side of a hill. The air knocked out of him, it took a moment for his eyes to refocus, a cough leaving him as he lifted his foot to kick at the creature now clawing at his other leg.

He stood, with every intention to fire his gun...only to realize he no longer had it. Glancing around, he spotted it a bit aways...right where a series of those things were sliding down the hill.

"Great..." weaponless...not good at all.

"You know...it wouldn't be as hard if you simply quit wasting both our times and let me out" the voice sent a chill through him.

Up upon a large mausoleum, a far to familiar face sat casually with crossed legs. The face...was his, but those eyes. They shone in the moonlight, cold and icy...with nothing left of humanity within them. The man gone...only the cold and calculating monster left behind.

"Never" he snapped, only to have the other chuckle at him.

"Then you'll get us both killed" was the answer, before he was gone.

However, at the base of said mausoleum, something caught his eye. A slight glint, lodged in the wall...an axe. Not his preferred choice, bad memories, but if it served for now.. He ducked to the side, he just needed to reach it. A hand closed around the handle, it felt far more sturdy than many of the others around. He pulled with all his weight, slipping it out of the wall and turning just in time to catch the side of one of those thing's heads. Blood sprayed from the wound, but by now...he was sadly used to such getting on him.

It fell to the ground, his heart pounding within his chest. Frowning, he caught sight of the others advancing. Fine...if this was what was needed... He placed a foot on the body, before pulling up on the axe to dislodge it from the skull. Gripping onto the handle with both hands, he didn't even hesitate to move forward and make use of the weapon to his advantage. In truth...he felt much better hacking away at those things, the anger and annoyance that had built up within him exploading forth for the moment. They should've been far more afraid of him than he was of them at this point.

The final one falling, his breath was in a series of pants now, and the weight of what had just happened was slowly sinking in as the high faded. Blood streaked across his glasses, he stepped back from the body and fell back against a gravestone. Almost ripping off his glasses, a hand moved to his head as his eyes closed. Dammit...when would this stupid trial end? He glanced at the glasses and slowly a softer gaze replaced the darker one in his eyes. He moved them to his shirt, cleaning them away. He knew they were not the real ones...that resided outside on his body...but still, it was a sense of normalcy in this hell.

Standing, he replaced them, he just needed to keep going a bit... He tensed, feeling the presence of something behind him. He turned, fully prepared to see one of those things behind him, but what he saw caught his breath.

"Sebastian..."

The form of the other stood across from him in the moonlight. It was clearly him...but the pulsing sores and trails across his skin clearly akin to that of someone affected like back in Beacon by that madman. The other took a few steps closer towards him.

"Why did you have to get in the way like that...You weren't around when I needed you...when I needed my partner" the anger and venom in the voice made a slight chill run through him.

He took a slight step back, "I...I didn't..."

The other raised a gun in his direction, "you abandoned me...you dissappeared and let me blame myself for everything!"

A shot fired, it raked across his shoulder. Letting out a surprised yell, a gloved hand clamped around the wound, the sting of it bringing him back to reality. The 'Sebastian' couldn't be real...no...this was a ploy, they were playing with his head again. Anger once more welled up inside of his chest, mixed with guilt and a deep pain. No...he was NOT going to allow them to use the other like this. Turning, he moved as another shot was fired at him. He backtracked, running against the bullets that more than once got to close for comfort.

There, he saw it from before. His gun laying on the ground, he dipped down to pick it up and turned. A hand clamped around his neck, caught off guard by it as he was turned and slammed against the nearest tree hard enough to daze him for a moment. How had the other gotten so close so fast? He saw those eyes, all the kindness gone from them...this was not the man he'd once known at all.

"Now you will pay..."

He saw the gun rising, well aware that it would be aimed at him and the last thing he would see if he did not react now.

"Sebastian..." the name left his lips with a bit of strain due to the hand around his neck.

He had no time to hesitate, moving his own hand to slam the handle of his gun down at the other's face. A angry yell and the other stumbled back enough to drop him. A hand moving to rub his neck, he watched as the other turned back to look at him. The side of his face cracked...almost like a mask, exposing one of the glowing eyes beneath. No...that wasn't Sebastian...and yet... As it chagred at him and he raistd his gun...

"I'm sorry..." Joseph pulled the trigger.


	2. Part Two

His eyes opened, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath. The image was still in his mind...clear as day, the sight of the bullet connecting with Sebastian's head. His hand clenched, and he was aware of the bite within it. Glancing slowly over, he remembered...the needle present underneath his skin. Doctors around the chair he laid back upon, checking vitals and muttering to one another like he wasn't even there or awake yet. Honestly, they probably figured he was still dazed from the dive and high from the drugs...and he was...but he was also still very angry and tired of this. Making him go up against his old partner...to shoot him.

Surprisingly they had not crossed such a line up to now, though they had used his image in other ways to shake the detective. So why now? Glancing to his side, he saw the smile on one of the doctor's faces as they handed the papers over to an agent. His eyes turned back to the ceiling above. That was it, he was getting out of here. Turning over slowly on his side, the shift caused him to cough. Finally one of the doctors noticed and picked up a syringe, before moving in his direction.

They did not notice until it was to late that he had slipped the needle from his arm. As they got to close to inject him, he turned and slammed the rather large needle into the side of their's. Giving a surprised yell, the doctor stumbled back which alerted the others. One of the guards within the room stepped forward, they were the only ones with guns, the real threat here. He turned, placing a foot on the stand with the monitors upon it, before kicking it over in their direction. It slammed into him and the whole mess toppled over. The other moved to raise his gun, Joseph had no time to second guess.

It was either react and see this through or face what came next. Either way, there was a very real possibility he would die...though perhaps that was better. He pushed off the bed ang grabbed hold of the man's wrist, pushing his arm up as the gun went off. It hit the sprinkler's above, setting them off on the room below, along with the sound of an alarm. That was bad, it would alert the rest of the facility. He needed to move, now. Grabbing the nearest solid thing, he used it much as he had the gun in the dive and slammed it into the side of the other's head. Unfortunately it appeared to be a beaker of some sort of chemical that caused the other to recoil back with his hands on his face, smoke rising from him.

The hell were they using in here? No, he did not want to know and now was not the time. Luckily now he was in control of the gun the other had been holding, and a glance at the other doctors in the room caused them to back off. They would not stop him, but there were still plenty who would. He turned, not hesitating to leave the room. If he did not hurry, the facility was going to go on lock down as soon as it became known what was going on went beyond just simple fire alarms. Down the hall a pair rounded the corner and spotted him. His jaw clenched, that was indeed trouble as one immediately ordered him to stop. Instead, he ducked down an ajacent hall.

He knew some of the halls, but there was still plenty he did not know. They were not going to give him a tour, most of what he saw was here within the medical wing. Glancing back, he saw the ones from before following, one on a radio. Great, this was already a disaster...he was being far to reckless, just like Sebastian. That would've been an amusing thought if he wasn't in the current situation. Overhead the coms switched on.

"Code 9... Subject C - 204 has escaped and is currently loose within the facility. Apprehend or terminate upon sight."

C - 204 ... He didn't even have a name anymore as far as MOBIUS was concerned. He was just a subject, an experiment to them...and a ghost to the rest of the world. The sound of a shot flying past his head caught his attention. There were more behind him, several now. At the same time, now that the facility was aware, it was going into lockdown. Doors would be sealing off, he was going to get nowhere like this. Turning down another hall, such was confirmed.

At the end was a door with a hand scanner, which obviously his would not open. He needed to think fast or get cornered. It couldn't...it couldn't simply end like this so quickly. His heart nearly errupted from his chest when the door surprisingly opened. A guard on the other side fully prepared to take him down, but the idiot had opened the door for him. Before he could fully fire, the detective raised his own gun and fired into the other's shoulder. He did not stop even for a second as the reaction to it played out, there was no time. Rushing past, he continued down the hall and down the stairs. more shots were ringing out behind him, they were clearly not afraid to follow through with the termination order.

He had figured that and it wasn't the first time he'd heard gunshots, so he continued to push on. He didnt get far before the path ahead was blocked by even more guns and guys in suits. He hesitated, freezing in the hall while trying to catch his breath.

"Toss your weapon away and get down on the ground C - 204" one of the guards ordered, "surrender or we will shoot."

He glanced back to see the guards behind him slowly approaching him as well, they were trying to get to him either way. Even if he didn't comply, those behind him would inch closer and closer till one side had to give. Every muscle within his body was on edge, the instinct to fight was growing and it would probably end very badly. Even if he did give in, he would be punished in some way...or perhaps he'd end up like their original core and nothing more than a brain in a jar. He sighed, moving his hand slowly as to toss the gun away when a click reached his ears. The lock on the door right in front of him had turned green. The hell? He did not trust it, not at all...but it was his only chance.

Moving forward, he pushed open the door, before turning to slam it shut and break the scanner by it so the lock turned red again. That would not slow them down for long at all. He glanced around the room. There was a door at the other side, it had no scanner but he did not know where it would lead. Still, he'd been given even the moment to disappear and he could try keeping out of sight for the moment. Everywhere he managed to get was on alert, there were agents running around and some left to keep guard in areas. At this rate he was going to get caught, not knowing where to go coupled with every single way being watched.

"We have to find him...we can not have him interfering, the head will have ours if he gets to the systems.."

He overheard two talking from around a corner. Interfering? What were they up to...he knew it could in no way be good, but he also had no idea where to even start if he did want to stop whatever it was. As much as he would love to take the bastards down, he was in no shape to do so. He was already getting tired, running this far on adriniline and sheer will. What was he even doing? What did he hope to gain from this? Even if he did escape...then what?

It wasn't like he could just go home to his old life... Show up like nothing happened, far to much had and he didn't even know what had come to pass on the outside. Sebastian...The Station...Everything... His past life was so far away now and there was no way MOBIUS would just let him go. No, he would become to great of a liability. Should he get out, they probably would truly rather use deadly force rather than apprehend him alive. His eyes drifted down to the gun in his hand. It wouldn't be hard...to use it... He had almost back then.

If he was going to die, he would much rather it be on his terms... Lifting the gun a bit, he moved it closer to his head...before pausing. He could all but hear Sebastian in his head.

"The hell are you doing? You've fought this far...are you really going to let them win by killing yourself?"

His arm dropped to his side. No... He was not going to let them win, not like this, no way in hell. Movement to his side caught his attention and he turned, raising the gun again. Across the hall stood Kidman, the female's gun aimed right back at him. Tension rose once more, a frown forming on his lips, she was the last person he cared to see for the moment. How much had she seen? As if she honestly had any room to judge if she had at this point.

"Take the elevator to the base level and follow the signs to the loading bay" she said, "it's not going to be as guarded and you can use one of the trucks."

Wait...was she...helping him?

"Here" she moved her hand, tossing something at him.

His hand moved, catching it before his eyes flickered to what looked like...a key card?

"That will let you bypass the systems and get out" the sound of steps somewhere was growing.

"Why help me?" he turned his gaze back to her, "why now?"

For a moment silence spread between the two once more, before she slowly lowered her gun from him.

"Because...Neither of you should have got wrapped up in this from the start...and he's going to need you" was her reply.

Neither of them and he was going to need him? Did she mean Sebastian? More questions rose in his head, but the sound of steps was getting closer.

"Go" she said, before turning and running off down one of the other halls past a group of guards coming, "with me...he went this way, we will cut him off on the next floor."

The steps receeded...leaving him alone once more. He glanced at the card in his hand...before his fingers clenched around it. He followed her directions, heading to the elevator and down. He avoided the cameras and by using the card it was easier to avoid alarms and bypass the locks as she had said. He still was not keen on listening to her...but he needed to get out of here. The darkness of the bay along with the various crates allowed for great cover as he glanced out at the trucks. They were indeed less secured down here which was surprising.

He figured they never thought he would get this far at all...it was not unthinkable that they were cocky as hell. They saw themselves as above others, smarter than them to the point where they couldn't lose. It sickened him, and he was actually happy to be getting one over on them if even so small. Slipping around, he quietly made his way to the podium where a man who looked like he might be in charge barked out orders to the rest. A series of keys sat beside him and luckily a pair dropping a crate caught his attention away and allowed Joseph to grab them. Now it was just a matter of getting to one of the trucks and slipping inside unseen. Unfortunately from there...he had no idea which key would work.

Clenching his jaw, he tried a few, before the sound of a voice caught his ear. They had spotted him from up on the rails above. Now a series of guards and workers were headed his way. Great... Hopefully they key in his hand was the one, or this was going to get interesting. Slipping it into the ignition, he turned...and the engine roared to life. A smile spreading over his lips, a spark of excitement lifted inside of him. It was shattered moments later along with a shot to the window that sent glass over him and barley missed his head.

There was no time to celebrate now, this was it. He shifted gears and hit the gas. The sound of the tires screeching against the pavement heard, the truck lurching forward and across the bay. A few guys dived out of the way as he drove towards them. The doors to the bay began to close but it was to late, he peeled out of there and through the fence surrounding the compound. Distance, that was all that he cared about right now, putting some between him and this hole. He was aware there was a threat of them coming after him...and they probably would soon. He was going to need a plan and a good one at that...

For the moment though... It felt incredible to feel the wind through the window and smell actual fresh air outside of that building... Even more... It was beyond incredible to see the beauty of the setting sun. His first in three years.


End file.
